December 2010
Dear Family & Friends,
Warm Christmas and New Year greetings from all the McLeans. We are grateful to God for many blessings throughout
2010, and trust that you have been blessed in numerous ways too. This past year we were all "on the move", even more
than usual.
Andrew and Heather were able to take an extended leave from work, January-March, so they could travel and explore the
wonders of God's world. They had a marvelous time visiting:
New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan,
Singapore, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt and Turkey. They
enjoyed touring parts of China with Heather's cousin
Colleen, while Andrew introduced Heather to Taiwan, the
land of his childhood, and to various family friends there. In
Africa they climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and
explored the pyramids. Istanbul was a late add-on to their
trip, but turned out to be an unexpected highlight and a very
fascinating city. They have settled back into their cozy
bungalow (15 minutes drive from our house) and are serving
others through their paramedic and nursing work at
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, plus various church
activities.
Peter felt the need for a change after two years of happy though predictable living at home and working at BioPed
Footcare. So why not buy a new Trek touring bicycle and ride solo across Canada?! Add to the strenuous physical
exertion, an underlying spiritual component of learning to trust and rely more on God for daily living, and you end up
with Peter's Great Canadian Cycling Adventure. Between June 18 and October 9, Peter flew to Vancouver Island, then
cycled across beautiful British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains, Alberta and the prairie provinces, Ontario, Quebec,
the Maritimes, and finally Newfoundland to Cape Spear (seen
at right), before flying back home in time to celebrate
Thanksgiving. You can still read his insightful journal entries
and stories about his many fascinating experiences on his blog
(http://petermclean.tumblr.com) as well as see gorgeous photos
of God's amazing creation. Another dimension to Peter's bike
ride, was raising money to help publish the Hakka Bible in
Taiwan. Family and friends in Canada and the United States
donated CDN$18,000, while people in Taiwan donated another
CDN$9,000 in honour of Peter's 9000KM adventure. To God
be the glory! Peter just received news that he has a new job
starting in January 2011 as a pedorthist in the Okanagan Valley
in south-central BC (www.okaped.com). May God continue to
bless him as he ventures out on his own.
In October, Mark received his Bachelors in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. He
looks back over his 4 years there with many happy memories. Some of those include working and volunteering with two
growing social ventures, Sustainable Waterloo (www.sustainablewaterloo.org) and Students Offering Support
(www.studentsofferingsupport.ca). Mark was also on the move in 2010, with short trips to St. Louis (Urbana 2009), San
Diego (to visit friends made at Urbana), Nicaragua (sponsored by Students Offering Support), Boston, San Francisco and
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St. John's Newfoundland (seen at left, to celebrate the end of
Peter's bike trip). The big news for Mark is that he has
landed his first full-time job. Next month he will move to
Cambridge, Massachusetts where he will serve as a
Research Analyst for a young energetic company called the
Center (not spelled Centre as we do in Canada) for Effective
Philanthropy (www.effectivephilanthropy.org). He is very
excited about moving to the Boston area, and learning how
to honour God and serve others by putting his Business
degree into practice. So the last of our 3 young birds will
soon be leaving the nest. We shall miss life together with
Mark and Peter here at home.
Paul flew back-and-forth to Taiwan for three 6-week working visits in: Jan/Feb, May/June and Oct/Nov. He and the
Hakka Bible translation team made very good progress. By God's grace they were able to finalize their translation of: the
12 Minor Prophets, Proverbs, the Psalms, Mark's Gospel and Matthew 1-17. They hope to complete their review of the
rest of the New Testament by the summer of 2011, then move into final typesetting and proofreading modes before
publication in 2012, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan's Year of Hakka Mission. Paul enjoyed visiting Hakka friends and
preaching in various Hakka churches each visit. A major highlight in Taiwan was the 90th birthday celebration for Elder
Liau Tet-thiam who has been a faithful coworker for 25 years.
Mary Beth enjoys working 4 days a week at the Presbyterian Church in Canada's General Assembly offices, a half hour's
walk from our home. She was very busy at Knox Church this past year where she serves as a Trustee, a member of the
Personnel Committee, and as coordinator of the prayer chain. We, Mary Beth and Paul, were on the move together, as we
celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary all year long. We enjoyed short trips to Niagara-on-the-Lake and Stratford to see
plays by GB Shaw and Shakespeare. For summer
holidays we drove via Ottawa and Quebec City to New
Brunswick where we attended the 60th birthday party
for Mary Beth's brothers Paul and Bill, and
brother-in-law Jack. We visited Prince Edward Island to
attend the wedding of Jack and Judi's son Samuel to
Maria O'Brien, and to attend a family reunion near
North Rustico. We also saw a performance of Anne of
Green Gables in the historic city of Charlottetown. On
Labour Day weekend we flew with Andrew to Los
Angeles where we attended David and Angela Tseng's
wedding. David lived with us for 3 years in Taichung
when the boys attended elementary school.
We are looking forward to a joyful family Christmas this year, before we have to say "goodbye" and "God be with you"
to Peter and Mark. The Good News is that Jesus Christ truly is Emmanuel—"God with us", whether we are on the move
or at home, no matter where we live or serve.
May Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, shine in your hearts and homes this Christmas and throughout the New Year.
Love from us all,
Paul, Mary Beth, Andrew & Heather, Peter and Mark